Colorado Matters at the Tattered: Novelist Peter Heller on darkness and light

Audio: Novelist Peter Heller speaks with CPR's Ryan Warner

Audio: Novelist Peter Heller takes questions from the audience

Slideshow: In the second edition of a new series called "Colorado Matters at The Tattered," people packed into the Tattered Cover Book Store on Colfax to see an episode of Colorado Matters being recorded with bestselling novelist Peter Heller of Denver.

Denver author Peter Heller's gripping new novel "The Painter" is about an artist, Jim Stegner, who moves to Paonia for a fresh start.

The novel, now out in paperback, tell how Stegner is a recovering alcoholic, his marriage has fallen apart, he's been in prison and he's lost a child.

"He's a guy that has a huge, generous soul and a good heart, but often finds himself in trouble," Heller says.

Heller based Stegner's character on a friend, the famous New Mexico artist Jim Wagner. A painful event from Wagner's life is depicted in the opening pages. Stegner, as did Wagner, shot a man in a bar who made a lewd comment about his child, Heller says.

The shooting behind him, Heller's character Stegner looks forward to a life of painting and flyfishing in Colorado's North Fork Valley. But more trouble is in store.

Heller's main character was inspired to become a painter after seeing "The Fog Warning" by Winslow Homer in a museum.

Photo: Courtesy Google Art Project

Heller weaves real-life art into the novel. As a young man, the character, Stegner, stumbles into an art museum after a street fight. Inside, he sees Winslow Homer's 1885 painting "The Fog Warning." Stegner is so entranced by the image, he decides to become a painter.

"The Painter" is Heller's second novel. His first, "The Dog Stars," is being turned into a movie.

EDITOR'S NOTE: A version of this story ran on May 14, 2014. It was updated for the release of the paperback version of the book.